''Dangerously They Live'' is a 1941 American

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Robert Florey Robert Florey (September 14, 1900 – May 16, 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Florey directed more than 50 films, the best known likely being the Marx Brothers first feature ''The Cocoanuts'' (1929 ...

and starring

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

Nancy Coleman Nancy Coleman (December 30, 1912 – January 18, 2000) was an American film, stage, television and radio actress. After working on radio and appearing on the Broadway stage, Nancy Coleman moved to Hollywood to work for Warner Bros. studios. Earl ...

and

Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor known for his commanding stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He r ...

.Gelman p.100 The plot concerns

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

spies who try to pry information out of a British agent.

Plot

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, German agents arrange for Jane Greystone to take a taxi driven by one of their own men. The abduction goes awry when the taxi collides with another vehicle. Both driver and passenger are taken to the hospital in an ambulance attended by intern Dr. Mike Lewis. On the way, Jane regains consciousness and claims to have amnesia, and she cannot remember who she is. The driver reports this to his superiors. Mike is excited, as this is his area of study, and persuades Dr. Murdock to let him take the case. John Goodwin appears and claims that Jane is his daughter. However, after he leaves, Jane tells Mike that he is lying, and that she is actually working for British intelligence. Mike doesn't believe her, especially when Goodwin returns with famous specialist Dr. Ingersoll, from whom Mike had taken a class. When Jane adamantly refuses to go home with her "father," Ingersoll suggests that Mike accompany her in order to ease her mind, and Jane agrees. In private, she tells Mike that she wants to discover as much as she can about the Nazi spy ring. Mike finds it suspicious that the Goodwin mansion is heavily staffed, and he is not permitted to go anywhere without an escort. When Steiner, a reluctant German agent, balks at kidnapping, he is kept prisoner at the mansion. He manages to pass a note to Mike, warning him that Jane is in great danger. This finally convinces Mike that she has been telling the truth. Mike manages to get away, but this only confirms Ingersoll's suspicion that Jane is faking her amnesia. By the time Mike returns with Sheriff Dill, the mansion is deserted except for Ingersoll. Still trusting his old teacher, Mike accompanies him to the district attorney. Ingersoll, however, has him committed as a doctor who became too close to the psychotics whom he was studying. A guard offers to let Mike escape for $500, but turns out to be working for the spies, and Mike ends up back in Ingersoll's hands. By threatening Mike, Ingersoll coerces Jane to disclose the location of a large convoy, which he passes along to a

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

wolfpack. Mike manages to wrestle a gun away from a henchman. After informing Ingersoll that she provided the wrong information, Jane notifies the authorities, who send bombers to sink the U-boats. Later, Mike and Jane are in an auto accident. Jane once again pretends to have lost her memory, but regains it when Mike kisses her.

Cast

References

Bibliography

* Fetrow, Alan G. ''Feature Films, 1940-1949: a United States Filmography''. McFarland, 1994. * Gelman, Howard. ''The Films of John Garfield''. Citadel Press, 1975.

External links

*
''Dangerously They Live'' at AllMovie
* * {{Robert Florey 1941 films 1940s spy thriller films American spy thriller films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert Florey Warner Bros. films World War II spy films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films English-language spy thriller films Films set in New York City